Palletized load

ABSTRACT

A composite package consisting of an articulated fiberboard pallet or platform, a semi-fragile article positioned thereon, an inner heat-shrinkable plastic film shrunk tightly about and partially enclosing the article and platform and holding the latter partially folded about the article, an articulated outer box-like fiberboard cover telescopically received over the platform, article and film and interlocked with the platform, and a loop of strapping material encircling the fiberboard cover and maintaining the pallet and cover in their interlocking relationship. A method of assembling such a package.

United States Patent Melsek 1 July 11, 1972 s41 PALLETIZED LOAD FOREIGNPATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS [72] Inventor: Norbert J. Melsek, Chicago, Ill.643,984 7/1962 Canada ..206/ A [73] Assignee: Signode Corporation,Chicago, 111. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Filedl 1970 Brochure titled Poly BagShrink Pallet Covers, published by Cadillac Products, Inc. [21] Appl'88613 A Disccusion of Shrink Polyethylene Pallet Covers," by J.

M. Bills, Cadillac Products, Inc.

[52] US. Cl. ..206/46 FN, 206/46 M, 206/60 A,

206/ A Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. 51 1 int. Cl ..B65d /00Aswan Examlner-Bdwln Grant [58] Field of Search ..229/D1G. 12, 43;206/65 s, Mama-Edward 206/45.33, 46 M, 46 FN, 46 FR, 45.14, 60 A, 78 B,

80 A; 53/30 [57] ABSTRACT A composite package consisting of anarticulated fiberboard [56] References Cited pallet or platform, asemi-fragile article positioned thereon, an inner heat-shrinkableplastic film shrunk tightly about and UNlT D STATES PATENTS partiallyenclosing the article and platform and holding the latter partiallyfolded about the article, an articulated outer 3,522,688 8/1970 Kahwodaet a1. ..206/65 S box fike fiberboard Cover telescopically received Overthe 3,508,375 4/ 1970 Myers ..53/30 2 458 695 1/1949 Ed I 206 46 Mplatform, article and film and interlocked with the platform, 2 l 4 Beston 1 UX and a loop of strapping material encircling the fiberboardaufnann et l 3 cover and maintaining the pallet and cover in theirinter- 2'790'544 4/1957 wlmon et "206/46 FN locking relationship. Amethod of assembling such a package. 3,347,365 10/1967 Funkhouser...53/30 x 3,529,717 9/1970 McDougal ..206/65 S 2 Claims, 12DrawingFigures PKTE'N'TEDJUL 11 I972 3,675,765

sum 2 OF 3 //VVENTOR.' IVORBERT J. MELSEK PATENTEDJUL 1 1 I972 SHEET 30F3 INVEN TOR.

IVORBEHT J. MELSEK PALLETIZED LOAD The improved package which comprisesthe present invention, as well as the method by means of which thepackage is assembled, has been designed for use in connection with thepackaging of semifragile articles, as for example, medium size items offurniture having moving parts such as sliding drawers, swinging orsliding doors or panels, and other parts which ordinarily must besecured in fixed relationship when conventional packaging thereof isresorted to. Additional articles of a semi-fragile nature which readilylend themselves to the present packaging method are various tables orcabinets having elongated depending supporting legs which are incapableof withstanding lateral stresses and which, therefore require trussingforce before satisfactory packaging thereof can be accomplished. Theinvention is, however, not limited to such articles and, if desired, theinvention may, with or without modification as required, be employed inconnection with the packaging of a wide variety of articles, or groupsof articles, whether the same have moving or fixed parts, and regardlessof the shape or outline thereof. irrespective of the particular articlewhich is selected for packaging, the essential features of the inventionare at all times preserved.

It has long been the practice to enclose an article, or a group ofstacked articles, in a loosely fitting bag of a heat-shrinkable plasticfilm and then subject the bag to heat sufficient to cause the bagultimately to shrink into conforming engagement with the article orarticles. In the present state of the art it has also been the practiceto thus package a palletized article by causing the bag upon heatshrinking thereof, to envelop at least the rim portion of the pallet sothat the vertical component of film shrinkage pulls the articledownwardly against the upper face of the pallet and anchors the articlein position thereon.

Such heat shrinking of a plastic film or bag with relation to an articlewhich is supported on a pallet has heretofore been accomplished on thebasis of the use of a film which shrinks isotropically, which is to saythat the shrinkage factor of the film is equal in all directions so thatthe open-ended inverted bag which encompasses the article and the rim ofthe pallet shrinks vertically to the same extent which it shrinkshorizontally. Thus, on the basis for example of a film which has a 30percent shrinkage factor in all directions, there is inadequatehorizontal shrinkage of the film to contract the lower open rim of thebag beneath the periphery of the pallet for holding purposes unless theheight of the palletized article is extremely small, or unless theoverhang of the bag below the rim of the pallet is unduly long. For thisreason where a palletized article of appreciable height is concerned, ithas been found necessary to restrain the rim portion of the bag againstupward movement by mechanical means such as nailing, stapling or tuckingportions of the rim of the bag into crevices or pockets which areprovided either in the pallet or in the pallet-supporting structure.This procedure is invariably resorted to where the pallet is rectangularand the article of considerable height so that only the corners of thepallet become frictionally engaged by the film while the medial regionsof the rim of the bag between adjacent corners pull upwardly beyond thegeneral plane of the pallet.

Considering only the heat shrinking aspects of the present invention, itis contemplated that, in order to overcome the above-noted tendency ofthe lower rim of the plastic bag film to pull upwardly beyond the planeof the pallet, a film be employed which, when constructed in bag form,has a high transverse shrinkage factor which is on the order of threetimes its longitudinal shrinkage factor. Thus, when the bag is invertedover an article of appreciable height so that its lower rim regionoverhangs the pallet, even to a relatively small degree, the relativelyhigh transverse or horizontal shrinkage factor involved will cause alarge linear shrinkage or contraction of the rim of the bag beneath theperiphery of the pallet before the relatively small vertical shrinkagefactor is effectiveto pull the rim upwardly so that when the verticalshrinkage factor becomes effective on the bag, the net result is to pullthe lower rim of the bag upwardly against the underneath side of theperipheral regions of the pallet, this despite the fact that the.

initial bag overhang is on the order of only a few inches. By the use ofsuch a film material, the necessity for stapling or otherwise securingany portion of the rim region of the bag to the pallet is obviated andthus, material and labor costs are appreciably reduced where continuouspackaging operations are concerned.

Apart from the heat shrinking aspects of the present invention, completefiberboard enclosure of the article is contemplated so that not only isthe article concealed from view when packaged, but it, together with thefilm which encloses it, is protected on all sides. Accordingly, afterthe article and portions of the platform have been enclosed in a heatshrink film as outlined above, an open-ended fiberboard or otherrectangular cover member is telescopically positioned over the platformand the lower open rectangular rim thereof secured to the side edges ofthe platform, thus encompassing the film-enclosed article on five sideswhile the platform on which the article is supported constitutes thesixth side of the hexahedral structure or package. Preferably, the fourside walls and the top wall of the cover member remain spaced from andout of contact with the article-enclosing film so that any shocks whichare inadvertently applied to the cover member during handling of thepackage are assimilated by the cover member and are not transmitted tothe film or the article contained therein. Even under conditions ofsevere shock wherein the cover member becomes dented, punctured orotherwise ruptured, the clamping pressure afforded the article by thetension in the film will permit the package to be completely invertedand subjected to rough usage or handling in such position without damageto the article of the film which encloses It.

In a preferred form of the invention, both the rectangular platform andthe cover member are formed of fiberboard material, each being formedfrom a fiat fiberboard blank. The comer regions of the articulatedrectangular platform is provided with rim flaps in the corner regionsthereof and these rim flaps are capable of beingturned upwardly out ofthe plane of the blank and also interfolded together so as to provide aseries of four pocket-like retention corners which, collectively,receive the four lower comer regions of the article resting on theplatform. The plastic film is then applied to the article and platformin the manner previously described and the predominant lateral orhorizontal heat shrink factor serves not only to anchor the articlefirmly on the platform, but it also serves to bind the four retentioncorners inwardly against the article and thus compress them and maintainthem in their interlocked relationship.

After the article has thus been anchored to the platform by theheat-shrunk film, an inverted fiberboard cover member is telescoped overthe film-encased article and platform so that the lower rim of the covermember encompasses the platform edges, as well as the four retentioncomers and, thereafter, a series of rim flaps which are provided on theplatform blank are folded into interlocking relationship with a seriesof cooperating rim flanges on the cover member so that the platform thenassumes a tray-like configuration within which the article is snuglynested. Finally, in order to secure the interlocked rim flaps andflanges in tight interlocked relationship, a loop of steel ornon-metallic strapping is tensioned about the cover member in thegeneral horizontal plane of the platform, and then the overlapping endsof the loop are sealed to each other, thus completing the package.

The provision of a packaged article or load such as has briefly beendescribed above constitutes the principal object of the presentinvention. Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at thistime enumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the nature of theinvention is better understood.

In the accompanying three sheets of drawings forming a part of thisspecification, two illustrative embodiments of an article which has beenpackaged according to the principles of the present invention has beenshown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a platform-supported article which isloosely covered by an inverted open-ended plastic bag with the openlower rim portion of the bag extending below the level of the platformpreparatory to subjecting the bag to a heat shrinking operation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the platform-supported article after theplastic bag has been subjected to a heat-shrinking operation;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the completely packaged article;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the plastic bag, showing the same in itssubstantially flattened condition;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an articulated fiberboard platform orpallet blank representing a more specific embodiment of the presentinvention and showing the same partially folded to substantially itsarticle-receiving condition;

FIG. 6 is a frag'mentory plan view of one corner region of the unfoldedplatform blank of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 5, showing the article tobe packaged in position on the partially folded platform blank;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, similar to FIGS. 5 and 7, showing thepartially folded platform blank and article loosely enveloped in aheat-shrinkable film of bag-like configuration;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 8, showing the film shrunkupon the article and the partially folded pallet;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 9, illustrating a furtherstep in the packaging of the article and wherein a fiberboard covermember is positioned over the palletized article and partially foldedinto interlocking relationship with respect to the platform;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the completed package; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the horizontal planeindicated by the line 1212 of FIG. 11 and in the direction of the arrow.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive wherein the invention in itSbroadest aspect is illustrated, it is desired that a load-supportingplatform or pallet 10, on which there is loosely disposed an articlesuch as an electric motor 12, shall, together with the article, beencased in a tightly shrunk film 14 of heat-shrinkable plastic material(FIG. 2) and the resultant composite package component then covered withan outer box-like protective container 16 (FIG. 3) which conceals thearticle and film and protects the latter from being punctured orotherwise ruptured during handling or shipment. It will be understoodthat although the article 12 may be relatively massive it is notnecessary that the same be nailed or in any way secured to the platforminasmuch as the tension which is developed in the film 14 is adequate toforce the article hard against the upper surface of the platform, andalso to exert generally radial inward components of force on the articlein all directions to prevent shifting thereof after the heat shrinkingofthe film has been performed.

Before entering into a detailed description of the present method ofproducing a palletized article, it should be understood that the termspallet and platform are used interchangeably and that any flattransportable base structure on which the article undergoing packagingis supported is to be considered as a pallet, regardless of whether ornot such structure is provided with legs or other elevating meanswhereby it may receive therebeneath the tines of a fork truck.

The platform 10 selected for exemplary purposes herein is of rectangularconfiguration and it may be comprised of wood of a thickness whichrenders the same substantially rigid, while the film 14, prior toheabshrinking thereof, assumes the form of a commercially available bag18 (FIGS. 1 and 4) which is pulled over the motor and platform intelescopic fashion so that the bag presents an open lower rim portion 20and a closed top portion 22. The bag is constructed from aheatshrinkable material such as polyethylene or polyolefin which isextruded from a molten resin through an annular die, expanded by ablow-up" operation, and then stretched in a machine direction bysuitable nip rolls while the material is still soft, thus imparting tothe film a molecular orientation which is largely longitudinal but whichpossesses some transverse molecular orientation. The film is slit alongone edge as it emerges from the nip rolls, leaving the other edgefolded, and the folded material is then continuously wound on a corewith the predominant molecular direction still extending longitudinally.No claim is made herein to any novelty associated with such productionor processing of the film material, it being deemed sufficient to pointout that in the completed tubular bag, the predominant moleculardirection is circumferentially, i.e. horizontally as viewed in FIG. 1,while a lesser degree of molecular orientation is present in a verticaldirection.

To attain this particular biaxial molecular orientation in the completedbag, the bag film is severed from the core on which it is wound and thesevered sheet .of film is folded along a medial fold line which extendsparallel to the direction of extrusion so as to bring the side portionsof the folded sheet together in face-to-face contact, after which themeeting longitudinal edges of the folded sheet are heat-sealed orotherwise secured together, thus producing an open-ended pocket betweenthe sides of the sheet produced by the folding thereof.

Roughly speaking, the heat shrink factor of the plastic material is afunction of the molecular orientation so that when the bag 18 issubjected to the action of heat at a predetermined temperature and for apredetermined length of time, as the bag emerges from the heatingoperation and cooling sets in a very appreciable reduction in thediameter of the bag takes place while only a moderate reduction in theaxial extent of the bag results. Specifically, and for optimum resultsaccording to be present invention, the heat shrink factor in thevertical direction of the inverted bag of FIG. 1 is approximatelyone-third of the heat shrink factor in the circumferential or horizontaldirection. For packaging semifragile articles such as the article shownin FIG. 7, it has been found that a bag film material on the order offrom 4 to 6 mils is extremely satisfactory for yielding the desiredhorizontal and vertical shrinkage of the film. However with sturdierarticles such as the motor shown in FIG. 1, greater film thicknesseswill ordinarily be employed. As will be pointed out in greater detailpresently, this vertical and horizontal shrinkage difierentialconstitutes an important and essential feature of the present inventionwhere relatively tall articles are undergoing packaging.

Referring again to FIG. 1 wherein the inverted plastic bag is shown asbeing telescopically received over the motor 12 and platform 10, andalso to FIG. 4, wherein a partially opened bag is shown, it will beunderstood that the bag, in its free state, is of rectangular outlineand presents two thicknesses of the molecularly oriented material, theside edges of the bag being in the form of longitudinal heat-sealedseams 24 and the bag bottom 26 being in the form of a l fold. The mouthof the bag exists by reason of the two adjacent linearly straight bagedges 28. The bag is opened up by spreading these two contiguous edges28 apart and it is then pulled over the article in a manner similar topulling a stocking over a foot. Since, in the case of the electric motor12, the article undergoing packaging presents a horizontal and generallyrectangular cross section, the bag sides are spread to conformablerectangular cross section so that the envelope which encompasses thearticle presents four generally vertical sides, two of which aremedially divided by the longitudinal bag seams 24 and with these seamsextending over the top of the article and terminating in a pair ofgenerally triangular folded sections 30 which lie flush against theaforementioned horizontal top portion or v wall 22 which is establishedby the closed edge region of the flattened bag of FIG. 4.

According to the present invention, the lower rim portion 20 of the thusopened and inverted bag 18 is pulled downwardly and overhangs theplatform 10 in skirt or apronlike fashion as clearly shown in FIG. 1,this rim portion hanging freely and requiring no attachment whatsoeverto the platform or to the article supported thereon. It will beunderstood,

of course, that to attain such free hanging condition of this rimportion 20, the platform will be supported in an elevated position, asfor example by pallet legs, a pedestal or other support (not shown) froma foundation surface.

The film-draped article is then subjected to a heat shrink operation bymeans of which the film 14 is caused to shrink largely in acircumferential horizontal direction and, to a lesser extent, in avertical direction about the article and platform. Preferably, theheat-shrinking operation is accomplished by exposing the film-drapedarticle 'to heated air by passing the same through a suitable oven.However other heating means such as exposing the film to the action ofinfra red heat radiation are contemplated. Regardless of whether radiantheat or heat of conviction is used, the resultant heatshrinkingcharacteristics of the film remain substantially the same. It will beunderstood that while heat is actually being applied to the film, thelatter is softened to such an extent that even the action of gravity onthe film serves to exert a sagging efiect although some shrinkage maytake place. The actual effective film-shrinking takes place after suchheat conditioning of the film has terminated and the film comes intocontact with the cool air as it emerges from the oven. Thus, in thefollowing description and in the appended claims, reference to a heatshrinking operation is intended to embody not only the heating effectbut also the necessary subsequent cooling operation.

It is to be noted at this point that by reason of the particularmolecular orientation of the bag film 14 wherein such orientation ispredominantly horizontal as far as the bag 18 is concerned, as soon asthe bag is subjected to the effective shrinking operation a large andrapid circumferential shrinking of the bag takes place, thus the rimregion 20 of the bag beneath and within the vertical confines of theplatform 10. This shrinking of such rim region 20 takes place within afew seconds and before the relatively slow vertical shrinkage of the bagwalls has had time to pull this rim region upwardly above the generalplane of the platform. The net result of this is that when the smallervertical shrinkage, of which the bag film is capable, has beencompleted, much of the rim portion 20 is drawn upwardly into tightengagement with the underneath' side of the platform, particularly atthe comer regions thereof as clearly shown in FIG. 3. By thus utilizinga film which has a predominant horizontal shrinkage factor, and onewhich functions rapidly during the heat shrinking operation, it isunnecessary to nail, staple or otherwise restrain any portion of the rim20 against upward movement and thus, from the time the article isinitially loosely set upon the platform 10 until such time as it emergesfrom the heat shrinking operation, no manual operations other thanplacing the inverted bag 18 over the article and platform are required.

In order to render the assembled article 12 and platform or pallet 10suitable for shipping or handling, the previously mentioned outercontainer 16, which preferably is in the form of a rectangularfiberboard or other suitable cover shell, is inverted and telescopedover the article and the rectangular rim region thereof is nailed orotherwise secured as indicated at 36 to the four edges of the platform10. The completed package is thus in the form of a hexahedron whereinthe outer cover or container supplies the four side walls 38 and a topwall 40, while the platform 10 supplies the bottom wall.

The outer container or cover member 16 not only conceals thefilm-encased packaged article 12, but it also constitutes a protectiveshell which facilitates handling of the package as a whole and shieldsthe film 14 from damage during such handling. Because the shrunk film 14remains out of contact with any portion of the cover member 16 whichlies above the plane of the platform 10, any puncturing or denting ofthe cover member incident to rough handling of the package, will not betransmitted to the cocoon-like film l4 and the article which itencloses, this being true even when the package is handled in aninverted condition.

It is to be noted from an inspection of FIG. 3 that due to the rapidinitial circumferential shrinking of the lower rim region 20 of the bag18, and the subsequent vertical shrinking of the bag sides, the fourcorner regions of the platform 10 are firmly frictionally engaged by thelower rim region 20 of the inverted bag as film shrinking initiallytakes place, while the medial region of the side edges of the platformare also frictionally engaged to a lesser extent so that when the bagfilm assumes its finally shrunk condition, an intumed peripheral rim ofthe plastic material such as has been indicated at 42 in FIG. 3 liesflush with the underneath face of the platform, this continuous rimconstituting the only exposed portion of the bag film 14. The remainderof the bag film tends to closely hug the article and the verticalcomponent of tension existing in the film, although it is slower inperforming its shrinking function during the heating cycle, neverthelessexerts considerable downward thrust on the article 12 and serves tosecurely bind the article on the upper surface of the platform 10against lateral shifting.

In a more specific aspect, the present invention is particularly welladapted for use in connection with the packaging of semifragile articlesas, for example, articles of furniture having moving parts such assliding drawers, swinging or sliding door panels and the like which,where conventional packaging methods are concerned, ordinarily must besecured in fixed positions before the packaging components are appliedto the articles. The invention is especially useful in connection withsuch articles of furniture as cabinets, chairs, tables, television orradio consoles and the like which present relatively fragile supportinglegs, hinged mirror frames and the like which, ordinarily, must bebraced or cushioned to withstand normal handling usage for shipmentpurposes. Such articles, when packaged according to the presentinvention, substantially eliminate the need for bracing inasmuch as theplastic film which is heat-shrunk over the article frictionally engagesthe moving parts thereof and presses them in their closed positions. Inthe case of fragile supporting legs, or mirror frames and the like, theheat shrunk film also functions in the manner of a truss andfrictionally engages such parts and rigidifies them by establishing, ineffect, a series of webs which extend, variously, between the fragileparts themselves, and between such parts and other more rigid portionsof the article, as well as the platform, thereby establishing reactionforces which brace and cushion the parts against even slightdisplacement from their normal positions.

For exemplary purposes, the semi-fragile articles selected forillustration herein is in the form of a conventional kitchen cabinet 50having the usual body portion 52 which is supported by legs 54, asliding drawer 56 and a swinging door or panel 58. The article 50, inits packaged condition, is supported on an articulated fiberboard palletor platform 60, the blank for which is fragmentarily shown in FIG. 6,and which platform is shown in FIG. 5 is a partially folded or erectedcondition. The packaging of the article is accomplished in a mannersimilar to the packaging of the article 12 of FIG. 1 by partiallyencompassing the article and platform with an appropriately sizedplastic bag 18 (FIG. 8) which may be identical with the bag of FIG. 4,and thereafter applying an outer articulated fiberboard container orcover member 64 (FIGS. 10 and 11) to the platform 60 and causing thecover member and platform to become interlocked together, all in amanner that will be made clear presently.

Considering now the nature of the articulated platform 60 and itsassociated blank, and referring specifically to FIGS. 5 and 6, suchplatform is preferably formed from an originally rectangular sheet offiberboard material which is slotted, scored or otherwise provided withfold lines which enable it to be folded into tray-like configuration.The four corner regions of the fiberboard blank are identical andsymmetrical, one such corner region being fragmentarily shown in FIG. 6.The term fiberboard" as employed herein is intended to include a widevariety of sheet materials such as substantially rigid commercialfiberboard, impregnated or otherwise treated and pressed fibrous sheetmaterial, laminated paperboard, corrugated or otherwise, and other sheetmaterials capable of being rendered foldable to produce the type ofarticulation required by the invention and described herein.

The blanks (FIGS. and 6) is provided with two parallel longitudinal foldlines 70 and two parallel transverse fold lines 72, the lines 70 and 72intersecting in tic-tac-toe fashion and defining a central rectangulartray base or platform proper 74. Considering only the lower right handcomer region which is illustrated in FIG. 6, a pair of narrow slots 76and 78 are cut inwardly and longitudinally from the edge of the blankand terminate at the adjacent transverse fold line 72. These two slots76 and 78 establish three end edge flaps including a bent narrow endedge flap 80, a second narrow end edge flap 82 and a relatively widemedial end flap 84. The medial and second end edge flaps 84 and 82 areprovided with transversely extending dual fold lines 86 and 88therealong. The end edge flap 80 need not be dual scored inasmuch asthis flap does not become folded individually in the completed traylikeplatform structure.

Each corner region of the blank is further formed with a singletransversely extending narrow slot 90 which establishes a singlerelatively narrow side flap 92 and a wide medial side edge flap 94, bothsuch side edge flaps being provided with longitudinally extending dualfold lines 96 and 98 respectively. The slot 90 extends inwardly to thelongitudinal fold line 70. The extreme corner portion is cut away asindicated by the partial dotted line rectangle 100. It will beunderstood that the other three corners of the blank are similarlyslotted, scored and relieved to provide corresponding fold lines.

Referring now to FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein themanner in which the platform blank is folded into tray shape forreception of the article 50 therein, various folding sequences may beresorted to but, for exemplary purposes, one such manner of folding willbe described In accordance with the invention, the blank is initiallyfolded to provide a series of four upstanding L-shaped compositeretention comers 102 (see also FIG. 8) which are formed by first foldingthe end edge flaps 80 upwardly on the fold lines 72 to verticalpositions after which the blank is folded along the adjacentlongitudinal fold lines 70 so that the end edge flaps 80 assume onedgepositions which are coincident with the fold lines 72, as shown indotted lines in FIG. 5. Thereafter, the end edge flaps 82 are folded tovertical positions along the transverse fold lines 72 and then arefolded over along the dual fold lines 88 so that they encompass orstraddle the upper edges of the vertical flaps 80. To complete theretention corners 102, the side edge flaps 92 are similarly erected tovertical positions along the fold lines 70 and are then folded inwardlyupon themselves along the dual fold lines 96. The composite retentioncomers serve not only to assist in centering the article on theplatform, but they also serve as reaction members to assimilate theinward thrust of a tensioned strapping loop which encompasses thesecorners in a manner and for a purpose that will be described presently.Prior to placement of the article 50 upon the platform 60, the medialend and side edge flaps 84 and 94 respectively are left unfolded and inthe general plane of the fiberboard blank.

Still referring to FIG. 7, with the articulated platform thus partiallyerected, the article 50, which in the exemplary form illustrated is inthe form of a kitchen cabinet, is positioned with its back side lyingflush against the platform base 74 and nested within the quadrilateralconfines of the four retention corners 102. At this time the top wall ofthe cabinet and the extreme ends of two of the legs 54 bear against thefolded end edge flaps 82 and the folded side edge flaps 92 and thusrigidify the formerly loosely folded retention comers 102.

After the article 50 has thus been positioned on the platform base 74, aplastic bag which may be substantially identical with the previouslydescribed bag 18, and which has been identically designated in FIGS. 4and 8 to 11 inclusive, is loosely and telescopically positioned over thepartially palletized article 50 as shown in FIG. 8 so that at least thecorner rim regions of the bag overhang and extend below the level of theplatform base 74 while the medial regions of the rim sides rest looselyupon the still unfolded end and side edge flaps 84 and 94.

At this time, and with the end and side edge flaps 84 and 94 stillunfolded, the film material 14 which comprises the bag 18 is thensubjected to heat shrinking, after which the shrunken film assumes thecondition in which it is illustrated in FIG. 9. The same phenomena ofrapid inward or centripetal shrinking of the lower rim region 20 of thebag 18 as was prevalent in connection with the palletizing and packagingthe electric motor 12 of FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive obtains in connectionwith the shrinking of the bag 18 over the palletized cabinet 50 of FIG.9 and need not be described in detail herein except to point out thatsuch shrinking causes the four corner regions of the platform base 74 tobe frictionally engaged by the film and held against upward movementwithout necessitating special restraining devices. It is also to beparticularly noted that during such shrinking operation thepredominantly horizontally molecularly oriented film 14 tends to followthe exterior contour of the article upon which it is being shrunk sothat, in the case of the illustrated cabinet 50, the distal or lowerends of the four cabinet legs 54 frictionally engage the film 14 whilethe intervening portion of the film assumes a large radius concave filmarea, this area being under relatively high tension so that the fourlegs are reinforced and trussed at their extreme ends by continuousstrut-like film areas which preclude the necessity for utilizingextraneous leg reinforcing means such as leg braces or struts, cushionsor the like. Additionally, inasmuch as the top wall portion of theshrunk bag bears downwardly upon the sliding cabinet drawer 56 and theswinging cabinet door panel 58, these movable members are securely heldin their closed positions by the film and need no temporary fasteningdevices such as are commonly employed in connection with theconventional packaging and shipment of such cabinets and similararticles of furniture.

The packaging of the cabinet 50 is completed by telescopically applyingthe previously mentioned open-ended outer box-like fiberboard covermember 64 the article 50 and film 14 so that the lower rectangular rimregion of the cover member encompasses the platform base 74 as well asthe four retention corners 102 and rests upon the still unfolded medialside and end flaps 84 and 94. The cover member 64 is provided with sidewalls 106, end walls 108, a top wall and has a lower rim which isprovided with relatively narrow rim flanges 116 and 118 which areconnected to the side and end walls 106 and 108 by fold lines 120 and122 respectively. With the cover member 64 thus seated on the unfoldededge flaps 84 and 94 of the platform base 74, these latter flaps arethen folded over the flanges 116 and 118 along the dual fold lines 86and 98 as shown at the lower left hand region of FIG. 10 and, after suchfolding, the encompassed rim flanges 116 and 118, together with the nowfolded medial edge flaps 94 and 84 are folded upwardly to verticalpositions in the manner indicated at the lower right hand side of FIG.10, and also as shown in FIG. 12, thus completing the shallow tray-likestructure of the carton blank.

The folding of the edge flaps 94 and 84 about the rim flanges 116 and118 and the erection of the thus interlocked flaps and flanges to theirvertical positions establishes four regions of interlock 124 between thefour vertical walls of the cover member 64 and the four peripheral edgesof the platform base 74. The specific nature of such interlock regionsis best illustrated in FIG. 12 wherein it will be observed that theillustrated interlock embodies four thicknesses of fiberboard materialincluding the cover member end wall 108, the inner fold of the cartonblank rim flap 84, the end flange 118 of the cover member and the outerfold of the edge flap 84.

In order to secure these four interlocks in position against unfolding,and as shown in FIG. 11, the cover member 64, together with itscontained article 50 and encompassing film 14, is turned on its side anda loop of steel or non-metallic strapping material 126 is caused toencircle the lower rim region of the cover member 64, the loopencompassing the four interlock regions 124. The strapping loop is thentensioned by means of a suitable strapping tool and a seal 128 isapplied to the overlapping ends of the tensioned loop, therebycompleting the package.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings and described herein, nor to thespecific method steps concurrently set forth since various changes inthe details of construction as well as variations in the method steps,or in the sequence in which they are performed, may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, byvarying the extent of overhang of the lower rim region of the plasticbag 18 in either illustrated form of the invention, or by varying theshrinkage factor of the bag film in a vertical direction, the pattern ofthe exposed portions of the heat shrunk film on the underside of theplatform 10 or the platform base 74, will be varied within certainlimits. Under certain circumstances a complete continuous closed ring ofthe film material will be exposed, but with a shorter extent ofoverhang, or a greater vertical shrink factor, or a combination of bothof these factors, only limited comer regions of the film 14 will beexposed on the underneath side of the platform or platform base. In anyevent, it is desirable that no portion of the film 14 shall be pulledupwards beyond the general plane of the platform base lest the hermeticseal which is established by the film 14 be destroyed. Therefore, onlyinsofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in theaccompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byletters patent is:

l. A film-encased covered palletized load comprising an articulatedhorizontal rectangular platform formed from a carton blank ofsubstantially rigid but foldable sheet material, an article on saidplatform and constituting said load, a plastic film encompassing saidarticle and the corner regions of the platform and heat shrunktherearound so that the film exists under tension in both a vertical anda horizontal direction, the film extending under each of said comerregions whereby the vertical tension therein is sustained by frictionalengagement of the film with the underneath surface of the platform atsaid comer regions and with the top surface of the load, said film,prior to being heat shrunk around the article and platform, having apredominately horizontal shrink factor as compared to its verticalshrink factor, said platform being provided with a first series ofinterlocking and interfolded edge flaps which, in the carton blank, arehingedly connected to the platform and project outwardly from the comerregions thereof, said interfolded edge flaps extending vertically andserving to provide upstanding composite retention comers which lieinside the confines of the film, a box-like cover member having sidewalls, a top wall and an open lower rim, telescopically received overthe film-encased article, the platform and said retention comers, saidrim being conformable in shape to the outline of the platform and beingdisposed in contiguity wit the edges of the platform, said platformbeing further provided with a second series of edge flaps which, in thecarton blank, are hingedly connected to the platform and projectoutwardly beyond the lateral confines thereof, a series of rim flangeshingedly connected to the lower edges of said side walls andsubstantially coextensive therewith, the edge flaps of said secondseries and said rim flanges being interfolded and lying exteriorly ofthe film-encased load so as to provide vertically disposed multi-layerinterlocks between the cover member and platform for holding the formerin position on the latter, and a loop of tensioned strapping encirclingthe lower region of the cover member including said interlocks, and theretention corners, and serving to force the interlocks against theadjacent walls of the cover member.

1. A film-encased covered palletized load comprising an articulatedhorizontal rectangular platform formed from a carton blank ofsubstantially rigid but foldable sheet material, an article on saidplatform and constituting said load, a plastic film encompassing saidarticle and the corner regions of the platform and heat shrunktherearound so that the film exists under tension in both a vertical anda horizontal direction, the film extending under each of said cornerregions whereby the vertical tension therein is sustained by frictionalengagement of the film with the underneath surface of the platform atsaid corner regions and with the top surface of the load, said film,prior to being heat shrunk around the article and platform, having apredominately horizontal shrink factor as compared to its verticalshrink factor, said platform being provided with a first series ofinterlocking and interfolded edge flaps which, in the carton blank, arehingedly connected to the platform and project outwardly from the cornerregions thereof, said interfolded edge flaps extending vertically andserving to provide upstanding composite retention corners which lieinside the confines of the film, a box-like cover member having sidewalls, a top wall and an open lower rim, telescopically received overthe film-encased article, the platform and said retention corners, saidrim being conformable in shape to the outline of the platform and beingdisposed in contiguity wit the edges of the platform, said platformbeing further provided with a second series of edge flaps which, in thecarton blank, are hingedly connected to the platform and projectoutwardly beyond the lateral confines thereof, a series of rim flangeshingedly connected to the lower edges of said side walls andsubstantially coextensive therewith, the edge flaps of said secondseries and said rim flanges being interfolded and lying exteriorly ofthe film-encased load so as to provide vertically disposed multilayerinterlocks between the cover membEr and platform for holding the formerin position on the latter, and a loop of tensioned strapping encirclingthe lower region of the cover member including said interlocks, and theretention corners, and serving to force the interlocks against theadjacent walls of the cover member.
 2. A film-encased covered palletizedload as set forth in claim 1, wherein each edge flap of the first seriesis folded along a medial longitudinally extending fold line over thedistal edge of the adjacent side flange so as to make coextensiveface-to-face contact with the opposite sides of the latter, and thefolded edge flaps and the flanges lie in substantial contiguity with theadjacent side walls of the cover member.